The UmBlog

This was starting the day I left Haiti on February 12th. Haiti - "A Call To Fasting & Prayer" from anthony gehin on Vimeo . It was in the place of the Carnival. I left Haiti last year during Fat Tuesday. It was crazy then. It was a different kind of crazy, a holy crazy this year. I hope God continues the revival of this land. The earthquake in Chile is crazy to me. I've been to Santiago, Chile. It was my first trip to another continent. It was 1993 and my first flight in a Boeing 787, but we landed at such a small airport, but in the country's capital city. Now another country I've been to, where I saw God at work, has been hit by a huge earthquake. There was also one in Japan and one off the coast of Argentina yesterday. I pray these countries also, though more prepared for such acts of nature and not facing as much loss of lives, will, like Haiti, turn to Jesus. Here is a short video of Jesus time in a tent hospital, courtesy of the Livesay blog . These ...

The good news for every year starts with Jesus. As Paul writes to Titus, his protege in Crete. 3 Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us. 4 But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. 5 He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. 7 He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness. And now we know that we will inherit eternal life. Titus 3 (NLT) Hear it read aloud . Image via Wikipedia

I think the case can be made that for LDS author Stephenie Meyer , Twilight is written within the milieu of Mormonism . Thus, much of its symbolism can be seen to have derived from LDS theology. I think there are many points of contact, too many for one blog post, so I will touch on them, bit by bit. Let me assert that the vampire Cullen family are the good guys in the series. They may have weaknesses, but overall, they are the best. In fact, Bella Swan practically worships them as well Image via Wikipedia as her boyfriend, Eddie [ Munster ] Cullen. I think they represent an ideal family to Meyer. Their marble white skin has echoes of LDS theology as well, but that's for another time. One thing that sets the Cullen clan apart from most vampire clans is there "vegetarianism." They abstain from human blood. They derive their sustenance from the blood of predators like grizzlies and mountain lions. In the first book, they encounter typical vampires who get thirsty when the...

This morning I read Galatians 1 which opens with 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age , according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Some theologians make a strong case for God's purpose is to redeem this world. But verses like this makes me think, he did come to redeem, but not everyone or everything. According to His will , some will be rescued and some won't. So God redeems individuals. The influence of the individuals can, and often do, improve the culture in which they are part. Sometimes, the culture destroys them. But no matter how many are redeemed, this present age will always be evil . But one day this age will end, when Jesus returns. If you aren't redeemed by Jesus, then he'll treat you like an enemy according to His Word; 2 Thessalonians 1, 7b when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty a...

from Penn of Penn and Teller, the magic duo

Cardboard testimonies. HT: PP

From Driscoll's church .

Philip Crouse, 24, was one of the victims at the YWAM Arvada base. He was a teenage skinhead who had a dramatic conversion to Christ at age 18. His life was changed by Jesus. Matthew Murray, also 24, killed him. Matthew was home schooled, grew up in a church where family members served on staff or volunteered . He even attended the Arvada Discipleship Training School but didn't finish due to unspecified health reasons 5 years ago . One had nothing spiritual and received a great inheritance. The other had a great spiritual inheritance and threw it away. God always welcomes the repentant. As reported by his prophet Ezekiel 18:21 “But if the wicked person turns from all the sin he has committed and observes all my statutes and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:22 None of the sins he has committed will be held against him; because of the righteousness he has done, he will live. 18:23 Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sove...

Welcome to this week's Top 10 . I've been too busy to blog lately, but I've still had time to read the feeds. If you'd like to see what i find interesting other than these top 10, look at the top of the blog or click here . And without further ado... Church I have a few selections from in this category. Subheading: Conversion Guy Muse has two of importance this week. Follow up on new converts is essential. A first person account of joining a church from the St. Paul's blog. Sociologist Bradley Wright compares the NYT map of megachurches with population density. Subheading Missions Guy follows up this week with shared lessons on starting a church planting movement . Subheading Charismata In memoriam of John Wimber who went to heaven 10 years ago. Subheading Theology J.P. Moreland warns against replacing the power of God with Bibliolatry . Native Americans Indigenous names leave their mark all over the U.S. Yet Americans still think it's not a problem to use...

Since not every reader visits this blog and notices the shared feeds section at the top, I'd like to share some of my favorites of the past week. Sunday 1-At An Evangelical Dialogue on Evolution , Steve Martin attempts to define the nuances of the word "evolution" to his fellow Christians. He begins Much of the confusion in the evolution debate lies in the meaning of the word “evolution”. Since it can have several different meanings, and even the scientific definition of evolution can include several distinct components, it is not surprising that many confusing and confused arguments are articulated. Certainly the conversation is very difficult when conversation partners discussing evolution do not share the same definition, conflate several of the definitions, or elevate one component of evolution to be descriptive of the whole. Monday 2-At Evolution News and Views , Catholic evolution proponent and professor at Brown U. Ken Miller is challenged for claiming to much. Th...

great article . Why do people yell? Why do Christians stand on street corners and condemn people who are “going to hell in a hand basket?” Why do Christians say STUPID things like… “Get saved or microwaved.” “Get right or get left.” “Eternity, smoking or non-smoking, the choice is yours!” I think they do this for one main reason… It’s Easy! No, seriously, it is easy to yell, scream and condemn people that you do not know…it is much harder to actually develop a relationship with someone who is a heartbeat from hell, be their friend, LISTEN to their story, ANSWER their difficult questions…and wait patiently for years as God draws them to Him. THAT’S HARD! And so Christians have taken the stupid easy way out and just yell at people–and it does not work! Please spare me your e-mails on this! I have never asked someone, “How did you come to Christ,” and they replied, “Some really nice man with a megaphone yelled at me and said that my skin was going to fry like bacon unless I received ...

yesterday i had planned to write on "give us today our daily bread" but some other blog posts extolling NT Wright's interpretation of the gospel/good news and my reading Sunday morning has brought me back to God's kingdom. I'm power reading through the Bible. Since January, i've been reading 18 pages a day and i finished the Old Testament on Saturday, March 10th. Sunday i started the NT. i'm reading Reese's chronological Bible so the Gospels are harmonized. Mark 13:14-15 After John was put in prison, Jesus went in to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (NIV) What is the good news? That the Kingdom of God is near. What is the response to the good news? Repent and believe, aka, convert. is that a fair aka? Matthew 4:17, 23 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."...Jesus went throu...

The American Daily reports “More than 10,000 Muslims accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior throughout India during the last year. The Bible Society of India publishing thousands of New Testaments for the Muslims with their own terminology and vocabulary in different Indian languages and Tazi language. “Pastor Paul Ciniraj Mohamed, the Director of the Salem Voice Ministries, is one of the key persons of the Bible translators of the Bible Society of India to reach the Gospel to the Muslims. He is in the midst of persecution. Recently also he was threatened by the extremists to count down his days along with the whole family. “In Iraq, more than 5,000 Muslim converts to Christianity have been identified since the end of major combat operations, with 14 new churches opened in Baghdad, and dozens of new churches opened in Kurdistan, some of which have 500 to 800 members. Also, more than one million Bibles shipped into the country since 2003, and pastors report Iraqis are snatching...

paskewich.com: Did Bob Marley Become a Christian? : i have a copy of some old Marley and the Wailers when they were doing gospel stuff. this article is very interesting. "In the midst of his cancer battles and on his last tours Bob Marley's faith and worldview began to change. On November 4, 1980, Marley was baptized by the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston Jamaica. Here's the account of the Archbishop concerning Bob Marley, his baptism and conversion: 'Bob was really a good brother, a child of God, regardless of how people looked at him. He had a desire to be baptized long ago, but there were people close to him who controlled him and who were aligned to a different aspect of Rastafari . But he came to Church regularly. I remember once while I was conducting the Mass, I looked at Bob and tears were streaming down his face...When he toured Los Angeles and New York and England, he preached the Orthodox faith, and many members in those cities came...

Scot Mcknight, again at Jesus Creed , has written on conversion and asks "What does “If you confess with your lips Jesus Christ as Lord…” mean?"

two ways to live : : the choice we all face ; its like the 4 spiritual laws but with powerpoint graphics... there's nothing wrong with elegance

'You Trying to Say Jesus Christ Can't Hit a Curveball?' - Christianity Today Magazine : "But money isn't what peeves many fans the most. Few fans say anything bad about Sweeney's religious life when he's picking up RBIs. Yet as the feeble swings and losses mount, critics emerge from the woodwork to belittle him. Some ridicule him by wondering why Jesus doesn't save him from slumps. It's not uncommon to hear fans mockingly respond by reciting a line from the movie Major League: 'You trying to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?' Others resent his devotion to faith and family, and complain that he should commit himself to nothing but baseball. During a poor team start a few years ago, even Sweeney's manager seemed to jab his best player. 'Chewing on cookies and eating milk and praying is not going to get it done,' former Royals manager Tony Muser said. 'I'd like them to go out and pound tequila … ' Muser soon ap...

he seems like one of us born agains. his tats are bible verses. he was homeschooled in elementary school. unfortunately, the Lord decided he should play for the devil school, Duke. what did that get him? "...after a come-from-ahead loss to eventual champion Connecticut in the national semifinals -- in which Redick missed a crucial late shot -- it was time for a critical re-evaluation of the prodigy's progress." so he matures, even repented..."I regained my passion for basketball," Redick said. "My relationships with my family members were as good as they've ever been -- and my first two years, those were sometimes rocky. I met my girlfriend during that year and regained my spirituality...I try to be humble. I realize that any talent I have is a result of God's blessing. I don't feel the need to [talk trash] as much anymore." but still, i actually like the buy, but still... "in the final month of his college career, for headlong pursuit...